Here's what should have happened

Harry · October 16, 2015

They KNEW when DaMarcus Smith stepped on the practice field he was CLEARLY the most talented QB we had on this roster. But instead of do EVERYTHING in their power to get him prepared, they stuck with the guy that had been here. They also came up with a lot of horseshit excuses as to why.

I like Andrew McNulty and he is a good person. This is not his fault.

But we here excuse after excuse as to why DaMarcus isn't ready and why DaMarcus missed spring (as if they didn't know this was a possibility) etc etc... I'm watching tonight and think good gosh, this cat has the skills. Yes he's extremely rusty and way too amped up but he can play and lead us to victory. Yet he got ZERO reps behind Andy and Josh in the Fall. This kid should have gotten the majority of the reps based on his talent alone!

we all know Dajon Williams made a lot of mistakes and had his issues, but does anyone wonder if he was given a fair shake? Did we do everything we could to cultivate that talent?

The common theme is its the players fault. They aren't executing. They didn't pass the test. Isn't it encumbant on the coaching staff to make that happen? Shouldn't they do more to evaluate talent and try to help the most talented players get in the field? Watching the game tonight I couldn't help but wonder why DaMarcus hasn't been given more chances in these games and how easy it was to say well he wasn't here in the spring so he has a long way to go. How convenient it was to say that.

I am sick and tired of people using North Texas for what they want instead of what is the best for North Texas. Darrell Dickey wore black because he wanted to make a statement not because it WAS BEST FOR NORTH TEXAS. Todd Dodge wanted to keep his HS assistants when bringing in qualified college assts was BEST FOR NORTH TEXAS. Danny Mac stuck with McNulty when getting DaMarcus on the field as soon as possible was BEST FOR NORTH TEXAS.

I long for the day when we get a coach in here that will make decisions that are in the best interests of the program. Cause when that happens we will see our full potential and their career will take care of itself.

meanrob · October 16, 2015

Knowing the talent level and youth of this team, Mac should have played Smith from the beginning and accepted the bumps and bruises of a 3-9 season but know it would better prepare us for the future.

MEANGREENCOACH2 · October 16, 2015

No replies necessary well said!

ColoradoEagle · October 16, 2015

Don't forget Mac giving his buddy Cosh a job. He's an awful DC.

GreenTexan13 · October 16, 2015

I hope Mac was watching this game tonight and i seriously hope that the ultimate realization comes across his mind that he was wrong in the most ridiculous point he preached.

What is that point?

Well, the fact that Mac stated D.Smith wasn't our quarterback because he was a "practice guy". I am just as frustrated and angry about Mac absolutely refusing the only FBS QB on our roster. And Mac couldn't even been more wrong. DeMarcus is UNT's "Game guy". And if it wasn't for our horrific defense, we may have kept the score really close, or maybe even had a chance at getting an upset.

It really does sicken me that Mac's stubbornness caused us to lose at least two winnable games, and I can only hope, the our next coach will be a little more open minded. And play his best options, not his favorite options.

Edited October 16, 2015 by GreenTexan13

Ben Gooding · October 16, 2015

Yep, it's sickening. I have nothing but bitterness toward Dan Mccarney. As far as I'm concerned the 2013 HoD bowl/season was won by heart of the players of whom were recruited by Todd Dodge and John Skladany. I believe the team and coaching staff have been trying to play/coach out from underneath Dan Mccarney his entire tenure at North Texas. It was like watching a sinking ship with peasants running around trying their best to patch up the holes.

jtm0097 · October 16, 2015

But remember there's no such thing as a gamer. Oh wait, he just threw for 4 tds.

Edited October 16, 2015 by jtm0097

Ben Gooding · October 16, 2015

But remember there's no such thing as a gamer. Oh wait, he just threw for 4 tds.

and ran for a buck 22. He had 8 completions vs 2nd stringers, but damn near had as many drops vs the 1's. So, I guess it evened itself out.

Had a 40 yard throw to Goree that went down to the 2 called back as well for a "chop block."

On a side note - On the fake read-option PA I wish they would call a predetermined throw to the RB after he clears the defensive end. That throw was there all night for butt loads of yards.

UNT90 · October 16, 2015

I am sick and tired of people using North Texas for what they want instead of what is the best for North Texas. Darrell Dickey wore black because he wanted to make a statement not because it WAS BEST FOR NORTH TEXAS. Todd Dodge wanted to keep his HS assistants when bringing in qualified college assts was BEST FOR NORTH TEXAS. Danny Mac stuck with McNulty when getting DaMarcus on the field as soon as possible was BEST FOR NORTH TEXAS.

So, So, So dead on here, Harry.

And I'll add one more. I am sick and tired of friendship overruling what is best for this university with our big donors. No one can objectively look at our situation and say RV should keep his job. No one.

So, to the 17, do you want to buy access and a friend, or do you want UNT athletics to succeed? Look deep into your soul and If the answer is honestly that you want UNT to succeed, let Pres. Smatresk do his job. Actually, assist him in doing his job.

That is, if you truly care about North Texas Athletics.

MeanGreenHoops · October 16, 2015

we all know Dajon Williams made a lot of mistakes and had his issues, but does anyone wonder if he was given a fair shake? Did we do everything we could to cultivate that talent?

Good post Harry. I really think Dajon should have been playing all of last season and this. He might be a pretty good QB by now and would have been a Sophomore. He was much better than anything we've seen since and that includes last night.And yes I know he was a trainwreck at times last year especially against UAB.

TIgreen01 · October 16, 2015

It does change a bit of the narrative around UNT not being able to draw in QBs because of the conservative offense. We were able to draw Berglund and D Smith--both highly rated and extremely athletic and D Williams may have had the most talent of all of them. We've had this kind of QB talent sitting on the sidelines for the past 4 years. Now, I didn't see a winner out there in D Smith last night. He makes too many mistakes that kill drives. Can actual gametime help him iron that out? I'd bet yes. Seems like Mac and Canales have been betting no---on all of three of these guys. They weren't willing to take the lumps (and losses) to let these guys develop.

Edited October 16, 2015 by TIgreen01

BillySee58 · October 16, 2015

He had 8 completions vs 2nd stringers, but damn near had as many drops vs the 1's. So, I guess it evened itself out.

That's an exaggeration. Like someone else said, no way people would've been claiming that many drops had Mcnulty made the same throws against their ones.

Yep, it's sickening. I have nothing but bitterness toward Dan Mccarney. As far as I'm concerned the 2013 HoD bowl/season was won by heart of the players of whom were recruited by Todd Dodge and John Skladany. I believe the team and coaching staff have been trying to play/coach out from underneath Dan Mccarney his entire tenure at North Texas. It was like watching a sinking ship with peasants running around trying their best to patch up the holes.

Skladany didn't get here until after Mccarney's first season here.

Yeah, it's a shame but on the plus side we have a shot (much smaller shot with RV) at getting a coach who could actually fully utilize Smith's ability. He's got a long way to go, but he's got 6 games to improve. Should be fun to watch!

Edited October 16, 2015 by BillySee58

Ben Gooding · October 16, 2015

That's an exaggeration. Like someone else said, no way people would've been claiming that many drops had Mcnulty made the same throws against their ones.

Skladany didn't get here until after Mccarney's first season here.
Yeah, it's a shame but on the plus side we have a shot (much smaller shot with RV) at getting a coach who could actually fully utilize Smith's ability. He's got a long way to go, but he's got 6 games to improve. Should be fun to watch!

There were that many drops. Marcus Smith literally had 3 drops in his own doing. Sure, there were drops with McNulty out there too, but a lot of those drops were receivers in heavy traffic fighting back towards the under thrown or erratic thrown ball. The drops last night were in large part timely thrown balls that were just dropped and make no mistake there were several first half drops.

UNTFan23 · October 16, 2015

Seems like Mac and Canales have been betting no---on all of three of these guys. They weren't willing to take the lumps (and losses) to let these guys develop.

Is it fair to say Canales was betting against D. Smith even though he started him last night?

foutsrouts · October 16, 2015

But remember there's no such thing as a gamer. Oh wait, he just threw for 4 tds.

Yes, Mac apparently thinks that the ONLY way to evaluate QB play is during practice, and that is of course going against by far the worst defense in the country. It's no wonder that he swore up and down that our QB play would be MUCH improved this year based on what he saw in practice.

Eagle-96 · October 16, 2015

1. Mac, and any other coach that didn't graduate from UNT, do not have any loyalty to this university. Their motivation is their wallet and their resume. Let's not get this mixed up. We all graduated here and will ALWAYS be Mean Green. Coaches are journeymen hired guns. Look at ANY coach on Wiki and you will see the myriad of schools they have gone through. It's the nature of the job.

2. DSmith has had 1st team reps for half a week and presented more skill and potential then Mini did in 1 1/2 years of 1st team reps. He is dynamic and brings genuine excitement to the position. I have NEVER been excited to see Mini on the field.

3. I feel truly sorry for Dajon that he didn't get his shot here. Mac should have stuck with him and let him take his lumps and improve. It really is a shame.

4. I don't really believe Chico thinks that DSmith wasn't ready until this week. He just doesn't want to hurt Mac any more than he is already hurting.

5. We only have DSmith for one more year. We need to get a coach here yesterday because we need to recruit a HS quarterback for the future now now now.

6. The WKU 2nd teamers on defense are better than most of our starters. Not a slam just reality.

cdizzle86 · October 16, 2015

I'm sure this was mentioned somewhere on GMG.com already, but yesterday during the pregame show, Barnett interviewed Canales and he mentioned that he and Damarcus had a screaming match recently. Not sure what exactly what was said but it seemed to get pretty heated. Fortunately they were able to hug it out and move forward, but it definitely proves that there may be some disagreements between Damarcus and the coaching staff.

I'm sure Damarcus has done a lot of growing up over the last few years, but I hope he understands the opportunity he has in front of him and that this is his team. It's time to be a leader on AND OFF the field.

Travis · October 16, 2015

I look forward to Damarcus Smith. He can run and throw. He does have A LOT to learn and a lot of room to grow... but, he has tremendous potential and upside. He can actually throw the ball guys. And move! I think he will need to learn to put less zip on the ball on some of them. I am excited for next year with our offense.

GrandGreen · October 16, 2015

I wonder if McCarney has changed his mind on the "gamer concept" being fiction? Smith looked the part to me last night.

ChristopherRyanWilkes · October 16, 2015

Either way it doesn't look good on McCarney. If this is the case and he was starting the wrong QB the whole time, then that's bad. If this isn't the case and DSmith is equal to or lesser QB than McNulty, then we recruited 3-4 bad QBs who can't compete in the FBS. Either way, it's stubbornness or bad talent evaluation.

DeepGreen · October 16, 2015

And least we forget, Smith had three days to prepare with the first team, go up against arguably the best team in CUSA, and a top 30 team in the nation. Let that sit in.

And the talent level between WKU and UNT is simply amazing. The 'Toppers have a lot of talent on that team.